Tow bar for towing disabled snowmobiles

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for towing disabled snowmobiles, comprising a triangular frame of two elongated rod members pivotally connected at their forward end and an extensible adjusting member transversely connected therebetween. One end of the extensible member is removably connected to permit collapse of the frame when not in use. Each of the rod members pivotally carries at its rearward end a slotted member constructed and arranged to receive and retain the edge of a snowmobile ski. A ball hitch disposed at the forward end pivotally connects the apparatus to a towing snowmobile.

linited States Patent [19] Rachel et al.

[ Dec. 25, 1973 TOW BAR FOR TOWING DISABLED SNOWMOBILES Inventors:Francis D. Bachel; Robert A. Voves,

both of Hibbing, Minn.

Assignee: E-Z Tow, Inc., Hibbing, Minn.

Filed: June 12, 1972 Appl. No.: 261,604

US. Cl. 280/493, 280/491 D Int. Cl 862d 13/00 Field of Search 280/24,491 D, 493,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1938 Moore 280/491 D 3/1963Hayman 280/493 R 2/1950 Mylie 280/494 X 12/1959 Cushman..... 280/491 D2/1940 Kries 280/493 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Great Britain280/493 OTHER PUBLICATIONS l-lall Distributing Co., 1972-4973 Catalog;page 19 Tow Bar, to tow any disabled snowmobile.

Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-Randall A.Schrecengost Att0rneyRa1ph F. Merchant et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT Apparatus for towing disabled snowmobiles, comprising atriangular frame of two elongated rod members pivotally connected attheir forward end and an extensible adjusting member transverselyconnected therebetween. One end of the extensible member is removablyconnected to permit collapse of the frame when not in use. Each of therod members pivotally carries at its rearward end a slotted memberconstructed and arranged to receive and retain the edge of a snowmobileski. A ball hitch disposed at the forward end pivotally connects theapparatus to a towing snowmobile.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures TOW BAR FOR TOWING DISABLED SNOWMOBILES Theinvention is directed to apparatus for towing a disabled snowmobile. v

Snowmobiles presently enjoy immense popularity both by reason of theirrecreational appeal and the simple ability to provide necessarytransportation in snow covered areas where other vehicles cannot move.However, as all other transportation vehicles, the snowmobile breaksdown periodically; and its capability to go where other vehicles cannotsometimes works to its disadvantage if the breakdown occurs in a remotelocation. Under such a condition, unless the necessary repairs can bemade at the site, the disabled snowmobile is entirely dependent upon thehelp of another snowmobile to be towed back. Towing, however, ispossible only if suitable towing equipment has been brought along, andthis is usually not the case. Ropes and chains may be used for thispurpose, but they are less than satisfactory due to their flexibility;and they can be extremely dangerous under braking conditions if there isno operator to stop the disabled-snowmobile simultaneously. Tow bars mayprovide the desired function, but such existing devices are far toobulky to be carried by snowmobiles, which are relatively small andcontain littlestorage space.

Our invention is therefore directed to a tow bar for towing disabledsnowmobiles which is easily connected to a towing snowmobile and isadjustable to fit onto the skis of any disabled snowmobile in retainingrelation therewith. The inventive tow bar comprises a triangular frameformed from pivotally connected rods which disconnect to collapse theunit to a storable size. The ski connecting members are quickly andeasily fastened, and they are mounted to the frame with ball joints topermit multi-directional movement relative thereto. Although entirelycollapsible, the tow bar is constructed to provide a rigid connectionbetween the towing and towed snowmobiles, thereby obviating anypossibility of uncontrolled and accidental movement of the towed machineduring braking. Further, the use of ball joints at principal connectingpoints permits a good degree of independent movement between thesnowmobiles over irregular terrain, thus enabling the towing operator togive his full attention to the control of his own vehicle. Our inventivetow bar is of an easily manufactured design, thus making it economicallyavailable to any snowmobile owner; and the fact that it is extremelysimple to use makes it desirable additional equipment for allsnowmobiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of adisabled snowmobile being towed by apparatus embodying the inventiveprinciple;

IFG. 2 is a view in top plan of the inventive towing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in side elevation of thestructure for hitching the towing apparatus to the towing vehicle; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the ski connecting portion ofthe inventive towing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With initial reference to FIG.l, a disabled snowmobile 11 is shown being towed by a snowmobile 12 withthe use of towing apparatus embodying the inventive principle andrepresented generally by the numeral 13. With additional reference toFIG. 2, towing apparatus comprises a frame formed from a first elongatedmember 14, a second elongated member 15 and an extensible adjustmentmember 16 transversely connected between the members 14 and 15 to definea triangle. In the preferred embodiment, the members 14-16 areconstructed primarily of steel rod having a diameter of five-sixteenthsinch.

A threaded member 17 is rigidly secured to the extreme forward end ofelongated member 14, projecting forwardly for threaded engagement with ahitch 18. The extreme forward end of the elongated member 15 is threadedto receive a clevis member 19, which is pivotally and removablyconnected to the member 17 by a hinge pin 21 and cotter pin 22 (FIG. 3).As such, the elongated member 15 is movable relative to elongated member14, which is rigidly secured to the hitch 18 for a purpose describedbelow.

Hitch 18 comprises a rectangular block 23 having a threaded receptacleinto which threaded member 17 is screwed. Block 23 also has a sphericalsocket formed in a forward portion which receives a threaded ball hitchmember 24. Snowmobile 12 includes a rearwardly projecting bar 25 havingan aperture formed therethrough to receive the hitch member 24. A locknut 26 secures the hitch 18 to the snowmobile 12.

The extensible adjustment member 16 comprises a pair of threaded rodmembers 27, 28, the inner ends of which are connected by a turnbuckle29. Clevis members 31, 32 are respectively connected to the outer endsof the rods 27, 28 for pivotal connection to the appropriate elongatedmember 14, 15. It will be noted, however, that clevis member 31 isconnected for movement about an essentially horizontal axis by a hingepin 33 and cotter pin 34; whereas clevis member 32 is connected by ahinge pin 35 and cotter pin 36 for pivotal movement about an essentiallyvertical axis, similar to the clevis member 19. As described, it will beappreciated that the towing apparatus can be collapsed upon removal ofthe cotter pin 34 and swinging the members 14-16 into compact alignment.

The rearward ends of the elongated members l4, l5 bend into parallel,spaced relation, each terminating in a ball retaining member (designated37, 38, respectively). A ski connecting member represented generally bythe numeral 39 includes a ball 41 which cooperates with the retainingmember 37 to permit multidirectional movement thereof. The ball 41projects from a rect-angular block 42 having an essentially horizontalslot 43 formed therein to receive the edge of a snowmobile ski (FIG. 4).A threaded bolt 44 screws into the block 42 and projects into the slot43 to retain the ski edge. A lock nut 45 is used to insure that the bolt44 will remain in its ski engaging position. An identical ski connectingmember 39 is connected to the ball retaining member 38 of elongated rodmember 15.

In operation, the apparatus 13 is first assembled into the triangularconfiguration by the insertion of hinge pins 22, 33, 35 and cotter pins22, 34, 36. Next, the towing apparatus 13 is positioned so that the skiconnecting members 39 and 46 are positioned adjacent the inside edges ofthe snowmobile skis. Turn-buckle 29 is rotated in an appropriatedirection to adjust the frame width and permit entry of the inside skiedges into the slots 43 of blocks 42. Threaded bolt 44 and lock nut 45are then turned until the ski edge is secured. Hitch 18 is thenconnected to the projecting bar 25 of towing snowmobile 12 by insertionof hitch member 24 therethrough and screwing the lock nut 26 thereon.

Because of the rigid elongated members l4, l5, operating through asingle hitch point to the spaced ski connecting members 39 and 46, thedisabled snowmobile 11 is easily and effeciently towed with forwardmovement of the snowmobile 12. Any up and down turning movement of theskis of disabled snowmobile 11, as caused by terrain irregularities, istaken up by the multi-direction pivotal connection of the ball 41 to theretaining member 37. The hinge pin 33 acting between extensible member16 and elongated member 14 compensates for up and down movement of oneski relative to the other; and the ball hinge 18 permits pivotal orarticulated movement between the snowmobiles 11 and 12. The use of balljoints and pivotal connections at the principal points ofinterconnection permits freedom of movement on the part of eachsnowmobile during a towing operation, and the rigid connection ofelongated member 41 to the threaded member 17 (and therefore the hitchl8) prevents mishaps when the towing snowmobile 12 must be braked.

When towing is completed, the apparatus 13 is removed from thesnowmobiles 11 and 12 and collapsed for storage within the snowmobileitself. This may be accomplished simply by removing the cotter pin 34and swinging the extensible member 16 and elongated member 14 intoalignment with elongated member 15. If further disassembly is required,the cotter pins 22 and 36 may also be removed to completely dismantlethe triangular frame.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for towing snowmobiles, comprising:

a. first and second elongated members each having first and second ends;

b. hitch means secured to the first end of one of said elongatedmembers;

c. the first end of the other elongated member being pivotally connectedto said one elongated member rearwardly of the hitch means;

d. an extensible member having first and second ends, the first endbeing removably and pivotally connected to said first elongated memberfor movement about an essentially horizontal axis. the second end of theextensible member being pivotally connected to the second elongatedmember for movement about an essentially vertical axis, the extensiblemember being disposed to define a triangular frame with said first andsecond elongated members;

e. and ski connecting means pivotally carried by each of the first andsecond elongated members proximate the second end thereof, each of saidski connecting means comprising a member defining an essentiallyhorizontal slot sized and arranged to receive the edge of a snowmobileski, and means for clamping said snowmobile ski edge in said slot.

2. The apparatus defined by claim 12, wherein the hitch means is rigidlysecured to said one elongated member.

3. The apparatus defined by claim 1, wherein the extensible membercomprises:

(a) first and second threaded rod members interconnected by aturnbuckle, the outer ends of the first and second rod members beingpivotally connected to the first and second elongated members,respectively.

4. The apparatus defined by claim 1, wherein the hitch means comprises aball joint hitch.

5. The apparatus defined by claim 1, wherein the ski retaining meanscomprises a threaded bolt disposed to project into the slot uponrotation thereof.

6. The apparatus defined by claim 1, wherein each of said first andsecond connecting means is connected to its respective elongated memberby means of a ball joint for multi-directional pivotal movement withrespect thereto.

1. Apparatus for towing snowmobiles, comprising: a. first and secondelongated members each having first and second ends; b. hitch meanssecured to the first end of one of said elongated members; c. the firstend of the other elongated member being pivotally connected to said oneelongated member rearwardly of the hitch means; d. an extensible memberhaving first and second ends, the first end being removably andpivotally connected to said first elongated member for movement about anessentially horizontal axis, the second end of the extensible memberbeing pivotally connected to the second elongated member for movementabout an essentially vertical axis, the extensible member being disposedto define a triangular frame with said first and second elongatedmembers; e. and ski connecting means pivotally carried by each of thefirst and second elongated members proximate the second end thereof,each of said ski connecting means comprising a member defining anessentially horizontal slot sized and arranged to receive the edge of asnowmobile ski, and means for clamping said snowmobile ski edge in saidslot.
 2. The apparatus defined by claim 12, wherein the hitch means isrigidly secured to said one elongated member.
 3. The apparatus definedby claim 1, wherein the extensible member comprises: (a) first andsecond threaded rod members interconnected by a turnbuckle, the outerends of the first and second rod members being pivotally connected tothe first and second elongated members, respectively.
 4. The apparatusdefined by claim 1, wherein the hitch means comprises a ball jointhitch.
 5. The apparatus defined by claim 1, wherein the ski retainingmeans comprises a threaded bolt disposed to project into the slot uponrotation thereof.
 6. The apparatus defined by claim 1, wherein each ofsaid first and second connecting means is connected to its respectiveelongated member by means of a ball joint for multi-directional pivotalmovement with respect thereto.